Experts Find The Prehistoric Age, Before School

Archaeological research indicates that 13,000 years of hunter-gatherer children as young as three have been creating art in deep, dark caves, with their parents.

A conference on the archeology of childhood takes place this weekend at the University of Cambridge will reveal the latest research in art made by young children in one of the most famous prehistoric caves decorated in France - the Rouffignac cave complex in the cave also known as the Hundred mammoths.

Cambridge archaeologist Jess Cooney says, no matter how careful the research, using a method tailored to the task, it was possible to identify both the age and sex of the children who made a simple art form known as the finger grooves about 13,000 years ago, during the time of the hunter gatherer.

His work reveals that some of the pipes studied were made by a child of three years with the artist's most prolific young to be a girl of five years, a university statement said.

Archaeologists first realized that the children had produced some of the finger grooves in 2006.

The field work earlier this year by Cooney, a Gates Scholarship to Cambridge, and Dr. Leslie Van Gelder Walden University, USA, shows how they were young.

Each year thousands of people visit the caves in the Dordogne Rouffignac of France to see the extraordinary rock art: vivid images of animals drawn on the surface of the deep caves in the hill.

However, the excellent drawings of mammoths, rhinoceroses and horses, represent only a small proportion of the technique in the system of 8 km of the cave.

Also clear that there are thousands of lines - a simple form of art or decoration known as the finger grooves - the people who run your hand on a soft surface of the walls and roofs of many of the galleries and passages that make up the complex.

Although impossible to date precisely, the images can be found in deep caves Rouffignac - a network created by the water - probably at least 13,000 years.

These caves have been known since the 16th century, written in 1575 François de Belleforest in painting in his book Universal cosmography.

For centuries, visitors to the caves added their own graffiti to create a frustrating puzzle archaeologists.

It was not until 1956 that scientists realized that some of the most striking art - including images of animals - were prehistoric. The drawings were the subject of intensive study ever since. Only recently, archaeologists have turned their attention to the grooves fingers less dramatic, as almost all are manufactured without the use of pigments.

Traces indicate that they come from the same period as the painted and engraved animals - an era of hunter-gatherer culture, known as the Magdalenian period also responsible for the cave art of Lascaux.



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How To Make Finger Painting Showing A Hunter-gatherer Children Went To "prehistory Pre-school"

Archaeologists have unearthed the rock art which proves that hunter-gatherers of children may have participated in some sort of prehistoric pre-school.

The researchers found that 13,000 years ago, the prehistoric caves of art created by children through their parents.

A conference on the Archaeology of Childhood, University of Cambridge, from today, reveal the latest research on the art made by children as young as three of each of the most famous caves decorated prehistoric France.

Breathtaking designs mammoths, rhinoceroses and horses were found in a five-kilometer "Hundred Mammoth" Rouffignac cave.

Experts recently developed a method for determining the age and sex of those behind the drawings, with one of the most prolific artists is a little girl of five prehistoric.

Some children's drawings are in the walls, which means there may be helped under the watchful eye of an adult.

Also evident are thousands of lines - a simple form of art or decoration known as finger grooves - made by people running their hands into soft surfaces on walls and roofs of many galleries and passages that make up the complex .

Archaeologist Jess Cooney said, "furrows made by the children are in all rooms through the caves, including those who are good 45 minutes walk from the entrance - for now, we could not find anywhere that adults childless striatum.

"Some children are high groove walls and ceilings, so they have even considered making them, or someone is sitting on his shoulders.

"We saw the signs for children aged between three and seven years - and we were able to identify four separate children meet for themselves.

"Children are more prolific than furrows was about five - and we're pretty sure that child was a girl.

"It 'interesting that the four children who know at least two of the girls.

"A cave is so rich in furrows made by the children that suggests it was a special space for them, but if you want to play or ritual is impossible to say."

Archaeologists knew that the children had produced some of the finger grooves in 2006.

Field conducted earlier this year by Leslie Van Gelder Cooney and Walden University, USA, shows how young they were.

Although it is impossible to date precisely the images inside the cave of Rouffignac - a network created by the river systems - it's likely that at least 13,000 years.

The grooves also raise questions about the age of identity - whether children were seen as now - and the apparent gender.

Finger grooves is also reflected in the caves in France, Spain, New Guinea and Australia.

Cooney said: "We do not know why people the facts. We can make assumptions like initiation rituals, training of any kind, or just something to do on a rainy day.

"In addition to the meanderings of single lines, there are grooves in animals and shapes that seem to be very difficult contours of faces, almost like cartoon appearance."
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Early Islamic Ultimate Stronghold Uncovered

Yavne-Yam A former port was used for the exchange of hostages, a Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers.

Archaeologists have always known that the Yavneh-Yam, Israel among the archaeological city of Tel Aviv and Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast, the port was a function of the second millennium BC to the Middle Ages.

But researchers at TAU ​​said they found evidence suggesting that the site was one of the last bastions of Islamic power in the region soon.

TAU Prof. Moshe Fischer Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern cultures and the head of Yavneh-Yam search said the recent discovery of a bathing house of the Islamic era first made use of Roman techniques, such as underfloor heating and walls, which is an indication that the Arab leaders maintained control of the site until the end of the first Islamic period in the 12th century.

The researchers say that when taken together with other datable objects such as pottery, oil lamps and glass flake rare architectural feature that shows that the Arab control was maintained at Yavneh-Yam at a time when 70 percent of the surrounding land was in the hands of Christian crusaders.

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Art Of The Stone Age Has Been Teaching Children, Study Says

Stone age toddlers may have attended a form of prehistoric nursery where they were encouraged to develop their creative skills in cave art, say archaeologists.

Research indicates young children expressed themselves in an ancient form of finger-painting. And, just as in modern homes, their early efforts were given pride of place on the living room wall.

A Cambridge University conference on the archaeology of childhood on Friday reveals a tantalising glimpse into life for children in the palaeolithic age, an estimated 13,000 years ago.

Archaeologists at one of the most famous prehistoric decorated caves in France, the complex of caverns at Rouffignac in the Dordogne known as the Cave of a Hundred Mammoths, have discovered that children were actively helped to express themselves through finger fluting – running fingers over soft red clay to produce decorative crisscrossing lines, zig-zags and swirls.

The stunning drawings, including 158 depictions of mammoths, 28 bisons, 15 horses, 12 goats, 10 woolly rhinoceroses, four human figures and one bear, form just a small proportion of the art found within the five-mile cave system.

The majority of the drawings are flutings covering the walls and roofs of the many galleries and passages in the complex. One chamber is so rich in flutings by children it is believed to be an area set aside for them. The marks of four children, estimated to be aged between two and seven, have been identified there.

"It suggests it was a special place for children. Adults were there, but the vast majority of artwork is by children," said Jess Cooney, a PhD student at the university's archaeology department.

"It's speculation, but I think in this particular chamber children were encouraged to make more art than adults. It could have been a playroom where the children gathered or a room for practice where they were encouraged to make these marks in order that they could grow into artists and make the beautiful paintings and engravings we find throughout the cave, and throughout France and Spain. Or it could have been a room used for a ritual for particular children, perhaps an initiation of sorts."

The presence of children's art was first revealed in 2006 by archaeologists Leslie Van Gelder, of Walden University, in the US, and her husband Kevin Sharpe. Cooney, working alongside Van Gelder, has spent two years analysing the presence of the hunter-gatherer offspring.

Flutings thought to be by a five-year-old girl are the most prolific throughout the cave system. Work by four adults has also been identified, though it is possible there were two further adults present.

The juxtaposition of the flutings of individuals indicate the relationships between the cave dwellers, the researchers say. For example, the markings show that one seven-year-old girl was most often in the company of the smallest of the adults, probably a male and possibly an older brother.

"Some of the children's flutings are high up on walls and on the ceilings, so they must have been held up to make them or have been sitting on someone's shoulders," said Cooney.

Flutings by the two-year-old suggest the child's hand was guided by an adult. Cooney said: "The flutings and fingers are very controlled, which is highly unusual for a child of that age, and suggests it was being taught. The research shows us that children were everywhere, even in the deepest, darkest, caves, furthest from the entrance. They were so involved in the art you really begin to question how heavily they were involved in everyday life.

"To be honest, I think there were probably very few restrictions on what children were allowed to do, and where they were allowed to go, and who they were allowed to go with.

"The art shows us this is not an activity where children were running amok. It shows collaboration between children and adults, and adults encouraging children to make these marks. This was a communal activity."

The significance of finger flutings, also found in other caves in France, Spain, New Guinea and Australia, has been widely debated in archaeological circles. Some regard the marks as doodlings, prehistoric graffiti, while others suggest rituals.

"We don't know why people made them. We can make guesses like they were for initiation rituals, for training of some kind, or simply something to do on a rainy day," said Cooney.

"In addition to the simple, meandering lines, there are flutings of animals and shapes that appear to be crude outlines of faces, almost cartoon-like in appearance. There are hut shapes called tectiforms, markings thought to have a symbolic meaning which are only found in a very specific area of France.

Cooney said the object of her research was "to allow prehistoric children to have a voice", because so much archaeological study focused on men's activities.

"What I found in Rouffignac is that the children are screaming from the walls to be heard. Their presence is everywhere. And there is a five-year-old girl constantly shouting: 'I wanna paint, I wanna paint'."


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Rapid Temperature Increases In Early Human Evolution

The periods of rapid temperature change at the same time, the emergence of the first distant relatives of humans and the emergence and spread of stone tools, according to new research from the University of Liverpool.

Dr Matthew Grove School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology reconstructed the likely responses of human ancestors of the climate in the last five million years by using genetic modeling. When the results were mapped against the timeline of human evolution, Dr. Grove was that important events have coincided with periods of high temperature variability recorded.

Dr. Grove said. "The survey confirmed that a large human adaptive radiation - a model where the number of coexisting species increases rapidly, before crashing back down to near its previous level - has coincided with a prolonged period of climatic fluctuations After the onset of climate variability around 2.7 million years a number of new species appear in the fossil record, with most of them disappear to 1.5 million years. The first stone tools appear around 2, 6 million years, and no doubt helped some of these species to respond to rapidly changing climatic conditions.

"1.5 million years ago, we are left with a man -. ancestor of erectus erectus The key to survival Gay Gay shows the flexibility of behavior - it is a kind of geographical coverage and the season lasts more than half a million years while other species may be specialized areas. has since been lost - due to their extinction -. erectus gay seems to have been universal, able to handle a variety of climatic and environmental costs "

The research of Dr. Grove is the first to explicitly "variability selection" model, an evolutionary process proposed by Professor Rick Potts in late 1990, and supports the pervasive influence of this process in human evolution. Selection of variability suggests that changes to the abrupt climate fluctuations, must comply with the variety of habitats, instead of every house, in turn, the time of selection variability created by Dr. Grove suggests that Homo erectus could be a product of exactly this process.

Linking climate fluctuations for the evolutionary process has implications for the current debate on global climate change. Dr. Grove, said: "Although it is often discussed under the banner of" global warming ", what we see in many parts of the world today is actually a greater range of annual temperatures and conditions, which means, in particular that the people of the third human world, many of them live in what is already marginal environments, they face increasingly difficult situations. The current model of climate change induced by man is like nothing we've seen before, and is disproportionate regions whose inhabitants have the technology to deal with it. "

The research is published in The Journal of Human Evolution and the Journal of Archaeological Science.

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Archaeologists Discover Remains Of A Roman Gladiator School In Austria

British archaeologists have been the team that discovered the ruins of the Roman gladiator school on the outskirts of the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Discovery has been described as "one in a million" and "sensational" is one of 100 hundred such schools Romans built to train soldiers before they are pitted against each other in brutal combat.

The British were among an international group of historians, geologists and archaeologists from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for archaeological prospection and Archaeology Virtual Vienna.

GPR is used to identify the school to a park called Romano Carnuntum is the site of a former colony that contains one of the best theaters have been found 40 miles east of Vienna.

The ruins have been assigned by the radar, but now remain underground.

Authorities say the rivals to find the famous Ludus Magnus - the largest training schools for gladiators in Rome - in its structure.

And they say the Austrian site is even more detailed than the famous Roman ruins, until the remains of a thick wooden pole in the center of the training area, which was used as a model for aspiring gladiators enemy attack.

The complex contains about 40 small sleeper cells, a large pool area, a training room with underfloor heating and a variety of office buildings.

Outside the walls, the radar scans show what archaeologists believe was a graveyard of dead during training.

Lower Austria Erwin Pröll provincial governor, said: "It's a feeling in the world, in the true sense of the word."

The team hopes to find a multitude of objects, including armor, weapons, utensils and money in the place where warriors trained and lived 2,000 years ago.

It 'the first discovered outside of the gladiator school in Italy: more famous of them belongs to those who are in Capua and Ravenna.

A spokesman said the imaging equipment showed widened structures for the characteristics of the same building and Collisseum Ludus Magnus, gladiator amphitheater, both in Rome.

Carnuntum was the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia which covered part of what is now Austria, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Caesar Augustus was the Roman emperor at the time of the gladiator school, before about 27 years and 14 years after the birth of Christ.

It was there standing HQ legion XV Apollinaris.

We see gladiators lived Carnuntum cells were found, and usually arranged in the formation of the practice mean anything in the arena.

Video presentations Virtual previous school Carnuntum gladiators showed pictures of the ruins that turned into ground that the complex may have looked like in the third century.

A spokesman Roemischer-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, one of the institutions involved in research and evaluation of the discovery, said: "A school of gladiators was a mixture of a barracks and a prison, through a facility high security.

"The fighters were often condemned criminals, prisoners of war, and usually the slaves."

The main courtyard is surrounded by residential and other buildings and contains a round of 19 square feet of training - a small stage dominated by wooden seats and the roof of the coach.

The Institute believes that in training was the men's "market value, and finally the impact of their destiny", it was decided.

Park Carnuntum head of Mr. Hume added, "If they succeeded, they had a chance to advance the status of" superstar "- and perhaps even achieve freedom."



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Rare Prehistoric Footprints Found In Mexico

Five footprints in stone "is one of the few impressions of the first inhabitants, the American continent is located in Mexico," Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement.

The footprints were found in the remote mountains of the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua state, the institute said.

Prints are three adults - one of which left impressions of both feet - and a child of about four years.

The ancient inhabitants probably lived in caves in Ahuatos valley, about 8 km from the town of Creel, the department said.

A local resident informed the researchers found.

"It took a lot of work to find them because they are not easily identifiable," says anthropologist Jose Concepcion Jimenez.

Although no other footprints were found, the experts found near the remains of primitive camps comes from the Pleistocene era (1.8 million to 10,000 years), a statement.

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Rare Opportunity To Own The Oldest House In Epping

Epping's oldest house, built before the Epping Epping has been called, is a market for between $ 1.6 and $ 1.9 million.

The four-bedroom house Victorian period Eldruwin called, was built in 1886.

Situated on 1764sq m of land at Fernhill Ave, part of the house was used as a set of channel 7 soap Opera of All Saints in 2005 and 2006.

The current owners Annie and Charles McDonald lived in Essex St, Epping, when they bought the house in 1988.

"We were going to expand the house we lived in, but my husband found this house and we both fell in love with it and bought it," said Ms. McDonald.

"There was not looking for other properties, just say yes to him. It was a beautiful family home.

"I see a movement of young families with children so they can run around the porch, when our children were small.

"When it rained, we moved six months, such as porches were definitely use."

The house was hand-made wood stove in sandstone of a private property nearby, and with Canadian pine floors, slate and cedar doors.

In 1883, Jonathan Wooster bought 100 acres of subdivision Devlin, part of William Farm, near Kent and Ray Midson Rds.

He gave the property to his son, Alfred Wooster, as a wedding gift. In 1920, Alfred divided his land and sold the five acres that Eldruwin.

The Joyce family has bought and split again in 1958.

McDonalds three children moved and they are cut near the city.

The house will be auctioned on Saturday, October 15 through northern Nor'Wester property.


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Tourism Minister Accuses Media For The Loss Of Tourism

Egyptian Tourism Minister Munir Fakhry Abdel Nour, the Egyptian hit the media for causing the recent loss of tourism.

He argued that negative media coverage has distorted the security situation in Egypt. He accused the media to scare the tourists.

"Stories about the road blocks that give a negative impression of Egypt and tend to show a state of chaos," he said Saturday.

The tourism industry fell by 35 percent since last year, according to the Central Authority for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Tourism in Egypt is in the middle of the 'environment of political uncertainty after the revolution of January 25, ousted former President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.

Egypt is now trying to diversify its tourist market and to encourage tourists to return to their country.

Many countries have withdrawn their trip to Egypt from watch lists, but are tired of tourists visit the country.


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Sudan Said The World Tourism Day

Many people around the world celebrated the United Nations (UN) World Tourism Day, September 27 of each year. Day aims to promote awareness of the international community the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic.

Sudan is at least three different rarely found in the resorts can not be found elsewhere in the world. It also enjoys the variety of cultural and ethnic famous historical and archaeological sites referring to ancient civilizations.

Tourism Development

Many believe that the tourism industry has developed in practice in Sudan recently and the statistics compiled by the Ministry of Tourism of the federal government have a number of indicators for further development as a result of political and economic exposure in the country attended recently.

Sudan is distinguished for its climate variability, biodiversity, clean and healthy environment, in addition to good skills that separate people, hospitality and generosity.

Sudan has passed the different stages of civilization from the stone age to middle age in the modern age. Kush ancient civilizations, and Nepta Merowe considered some of the oldest known civilization in human history.

The State of the Nile

Nile State has a lot of components, encouraging tourism, including archaeological sites attract a significant number of archaeologists and tourists.

The most important archaeological sites in the Nile State Merowe includes "real capital" east of the Nile, and four miles north of where Kabushya Amon August temple is more than the royal tombs. Al Mosawarat site, 180 kilometers northeast of Khartoum is another site of interest to experts and tourists. It is "Lion of the Temple."

Naqa'a site, which is 159 km north-east of Khartoum is the most important archaeological site in the State of the Nile. It consists of a series of historic temples. Other sites are Bijrawiya which is composed of several pyramids.

The recording of archaeological sites by UNESCO in Sudan

A recording of archaeological sites was launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to develop global issues of archaeological sites.

Sudan has submitted documents to record archaeological sites in the country. The case was filed in 1994, including sites Barkal, Karo, Nouri Al Zuma, Dongola to Ajouz, Karma, and Mosawarat Naqa'a Merowe. The sites mentioned were recorded under the name "Al Barkal" in 2003. In late July 2011, another file Mosawarat sites, Sofora Bijrawiya and subjected to stand as strong evidence of the long history of civilization in Sudan.



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Biblical Burial Box 2000 Years Of Jesus Reveals The Idea Of ​​death

Registration rare in the case of a burial year 2000 may provide a new vision of Christ's death, the researchers said.

Called an ossuary, a box of chalk shows Caiaphas, the high priest involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. The Israel Antiquities Authority, who confiscated the ossuary thieves three years ago, he then Professor Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology who led the efforts of authentication.

"Without a doubt, that writing is authentic," Gore said, after conducting a thorough investigation of the limestone box, which boasts a decorative rosettes, as well subscribe.

Gore observations indicate an unusually descriptive writing brings to light one of the men behind the death of Jesus Registration complete reads: "Jesus, son of Miriam Caiaphus daughter, a priest of Beth Maaziah Imri" Designation of the deceased in relation to three generations, and a possible position.

The Maaziah refers to a clan that was the last of about 24 orders of priests high during the Second Temple period, Goren said. Although there are few records of the clan in the Talmudic sources that detail their lives after their dispersion in Galilee in 70 AD, the reference to Beit Imri new insight to put family before migration.

Although you may Beit Imri refers to another order of priesthood, the researchers said, is more likely to refer to a geographic location, probably the Caiaphus village family home.

Ossuary believed to come from a tomb in the Valley of Elah, southwest of Jerusalem, the mythical place of the battle between David and Goliath. Beit Imri was probably located on the slopes of Mount Hebron.

It is not the first time in ossuaries were no reports. Writing recently discovered ossuary of the population claiming to be James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus This revelation made headlines in 2002 - only to be turned out to be a scam.

Goren believes it really is - and it has science on his side.

"When the rock is deposited in the soil for millennia, that affects the environment and the impact on the environment," he said.

Processes such as erosion, groundwater and the accumulation of acidic limestone or silica coatings, biological activity, such as the growth of bacteria, algae, lichens, and close to the action of the flora and fauna, leading to the stone floor . Most of these characteristics, it is impossible to replicate in the laboratory.



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BOX 2000 YEARS CAN Cemetery Shed New Light On The Death Of Christ?

It seems that some of the writings of a small, 2000-year-old burial box could provide researchers with new information on the death of Jesus Christ.

It is believed the limestone box called an ossuary small and used for the reburial of the bones could reveal the house of Caiaphas, the high priest involved in the crucifixion of Jesus.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, who confiscated the looters ossuary three years ago, passed along the Prof. Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University Department of Archaeology, who led the effort for authentication.

And after a comprehensive review of the case, Goren says the inscription on it is authentic, "Beyond a reasonable doubt"

And spelling a little unusual to open 'new light on one of the men who were behind the death of Jesus

The inscription reads: "Miriam, the daughter of Yeshua Caiaphus Sun, pastor of Beth Maaziah Imri," naming the woman died in three generations and a possible location.

The word "Maaziah" refers to a clan that was the last of about 24 orders of priests during the high period of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. There are records of the clan of Jewish Talmudic sources that detail their lives after dispersal in the Galilee in AD 70.

And the reference to "Beit Imri" gives a new perspective on the location of the family before migration.

Although you may Beit Imri refers to another order of priesthood, the researchers say the Bible is more likely to refer to a geographic location, probably the Caiaphus family "of people.

Ossuary burial site is believed to be from the Valley of Elah, south-west of Jerusalem.

The valley, according to tradition, is the mythical place of the battle mentioned in the Bible between David and the giant named Goliath.



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Ancient Sweden, Fishermen In Danger PALI Human Heads

The Mesolithic period is the period between the deglaciation and the introduction of agriculture in Europe (until about 4000 cal BC in my games). Swedish research in this period in recent years, there websites have been able to compete with the small town of Motala in Östergötland County. Located in a series of rapids in the main lake Vättern to the Baltic, the place has always been important to fishermen and travelers. His record of Mesolithic won the stage with the construction of major railways in an area with reserves waterlogged organic sediments. And a series of bones and wood is beautiful, and of course the bone Boner covered here before.

Archaeological excavations in 2009-2011 in Motala, revealed a deposit only ceremonial Mesolithic site of human skulls in the lake earlier. Skulls are treated with a complex ceremony, which included an exhibition of Skulls Skulls Stakes and the deposition of water. Radiocarbon measurements of the skulls, old style, and are 8000 years.

Rituals of the Earth by Channel was carried out on a massive stone pavement built in the bottom of a shallow lake (now a fen peat). Some skulls were largely intact, while others were found as isolated fragments. The most intact are those eleven people, male and female infants aged and middle-aged. Two of the skulls had wooden poles inserted all the way from bottom to top. In another case a bone from the temple woman was found inside the skull of another woman. Apart from human skulls, also takes a few post-cranial bones and human bones from animals and objects of stone, wood, bone and thank you.

The impact of the skull are clearly Kanaljorden ritual in nature. The next step is to determine if human bones are the remains of victims who were treated with a complex secondary burial ritual, or trophies won, and enemies. Archaeologists hope that the ongoing analysis laboratory [stable isotopes] gives clues about the bones are the remains of local or distant geographic origin of humans, and if they are family or persons not related to each other.

I have not read the report of the bone, so I'm not sure if they are positive signs that the skulls were Defleshed before they are placed on the poles. Puts the date about 2000 years before the world was made under fundamentalist Christians. DISS and not my ancestors, OK? It is a sacred mystery to us all that are in harmony with the Swedish soil. I just asked the right to paint the bones into a fine powder and mixed with drinking Mellanmjoelk, semi. Because it's an old custom, I have to do our midst ethnic Swedes.

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Archaeologists Uncover Evidence Of Ancient Rome The Great, Near The Yard

University of Southampton and the British School at Rome (BSR) archaeologists, leading an archaeology excavation International Portus - the ancient port of Rome, believe they have discovered a Roman shipyard.

The team, in collaboration with the Italian Archaeological Superintendency of Rome, found the remains of a huge building near the pool mark "port", hexagonal or in the center of the port complex.

University of Southampton and Professor Portus Project Director, Simon Keay said, "At first we thought this is a large rectangular building used for storage, but the most recent archaeology excavations have uncovered evidence that there may be another, used in previously linked to the construction and maintenance of ships.

"Few Roman Imperial shipyards have been discovered and, if our identification is correct, this would be the largest of its kind in Italy and the Mediterranean."

It has long been known as Portus was a key trading gateway that connected Rome with the Mediterranean throughout the imperial period and the Project1 Portus team investigated the importance of using a number of years. So far, no center of the main building of Rome has been identified, in addition to the possibility of the Tiber near Monte Testaccio, and a smaller one recently called for the river port of Ostia neighbors.

A recent grant of £ 640,000 for new Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has made this final phase of excavation possible. These funds CAP, with the financial support of archeology Superintendancy of Rome, the University of Southampton and the British School at Rome has to be carried out extensive excavation on the site this year.

Great for building a team is 2 century AD, and C would be 145 meters long and 60 meters wide - an area larger than a football field. In some places the roof was up to 15 m high, or more than three times the height of the double-decker bus. Piers large concrete brick face, or pillars, about three feet wide, and still visible in part supported by at least eight spans in parallel with wooden roofs.

"It 'was a large structure, which could easily be placed on wood, fabric and other accessories, and certainly would have been enough to build or to protect ships in scale, location and the uniqueness of the building will take us to believe that he played a key role in the shipbuilding activities, "said Professor Keay Southampton, who is also the archaeological activity within the BSR.

Studies in 2009, his team remains focused on the "Imperial Palace" and an amphitheater-shaped building, located next to this building. He argues that together form the key of the complex with an imperial official accused of coordinating the movement of ships and cargo port. Moreover, he believes that the yard was an integral part of this.

Further evidence comes in the form of inscriptions discovered at Portus reference to the existence of a guild of shipowners or glassy portensium navalium fabrum in the harbor. As a mosaic that is now in the Vatican Museum, but once graced the floor of a villa on the ancient Via Labicana (a road that leads south of Rome), is the facade of a building like that of Portus clearly shows a ship in each subject.

"The discovery of this building has a significant impact on our understanding of the meaning of a hexagonal basin Portus, or port, and its role in the entire port complex," says Professor Keay.

He continues: "We must emphasize that there is no evidence yet of the ramps may have been necessary to start new construction ships in the waters of the hex. These can be found under the embankment of the early 20 , which is now on this side of the basin. Discover these prove our hypothesis beyond reasonable doubt, although no longer exists, "says Professor Keay.

Geophysical exploration of archaeological services from Southampton and the British School at Rome is to make the geophysical survey of the area around the building to get more information on the still buried in the structure. The members of the Southampton Archaeological Research Computing Group, led by Dr Graeme Earl, has also created a computer simulation graphics, which offers valuable visual information about its structure and layout as well as an idea of ​​how it came out, and has been used .

Professor Keay team is also working with Angelo Pellegrino Archaeological Superintendence of Rome to extend the previous excavations at Portus project and restoration of these structures, for 'the imperial palace, to better understand key issues on the design and development .

The international team further studies on the Portus plans to learn more about this fascinating, important site which holds a huge amount of information on activities and trade with Rome.



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Kodiak Dig Uncovers Traces

Entering the community archaeological dig this summer, Alutiiq Museum curator Patrick Saltonstall, hoping to find one of the oldest inhabited places in the Kodiak archipelago.

What Saltonstall and a team of volunteers discovered this year at the site near Rifle Range Creek Amak Salone, was something different but no less important to the understanding of the people living on the island of Kodiak for thousands of years.

Even if the sea is about one kilometer from the site today, 3000 years ago, Bay woman extended further inland. The site would have been forgotten in the beach area in the upper bay.

Saltonstall said, instead of a fishing or camping in the winter, waiting for the objects gathered there to propose a temporary hunting camp. The site offers a glimpse into the life of the prehistoric period Alutiiq people who are not well understood or documented.

"We found almost nothing but hunting tools - simply throw big," Saltonstall said "It seems that people went there with the finishing tools and some game .. They do not live there, really made it a very distinctive meeting place that says something. A very different from any of our other sites. "

Instead of flakes generated in the production of hunting gear contained only finished blades.

Thus, although not so many objects have been discovered this year than in previous excavations, the site has generated more than any other fighter Spears excavations Saltonstall has combined estimation.

But with the season of archaeology excavations and laboratory work in progress, are still some major questions about the site in mind stall Salto.

The archaeology excavation uncovered a large pile of rocks, and voluntary noted that a large amount of dirt was moved from one part of the site and stacked elsewhere. This poses a great job in a time before shoveling. The reason is not entirely clear.

Another mystery was close until the last day of excavation in the Community Archaeology team discovered the structure, which is responsible for, among other hunting grounds. Without the time to do a thorough excavation of the structure, buried him.

And there are signs that the camping associated with settlements for thousands of years before - but these characters have been obscured by subsequent management of the site.

In 3000 years, estimates of dropout Salto, the place was no longer in use. Geological traces indicate a tsunami 4000 years ago may have washed away the structures. After the fall of a large ash about 3800 years has contributed to the Bay of decline from its current location and the site Amaks no longer used in the same way.

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Ancient Egyptian Mummy To Arrive Science Center

Small decoding hieroglyphic banner Iowa Science Center has a museum next show is big enough clue. He said: "Show me ... me ... a mummy."

It turns out that mummy in question is "Annie", 2300 years the star of "Lost Egypt. Ancient Secrets, modern science" The exhibition will be open the day after Thanksgiving and stay through the spring, with artifacts and interactive exhibits that show how archaeologists use modern technology to understand ancient civilization, SCI employees said Wednesday.

What scientists can tell, Annie (anonymous nickname) was about 17 when he died in Egypt during the riots. (? Sound familiar) ancient embalmers, probably does not know its name - it would mark on the chest - but it was buried in a great ceremony, in which the sarcophagus richly painted and gold mask.

Archaeologists suspect his body could be found in the Nile, and was buried according to the greek historian Herodotus described by customs at the beginning. He wrote that "anyone at any time, Egyptian or foreigner, lost his life falling prey to crocodiles, or drowned in the river, the law compels the inhabitants of the city, near where the body is thrown in order to have it embalmed, and buried with the sacred repositories with all possible magnificence. "

And speaking of the crocodile mummy will also be on display, with a cat and several frogs newly mummified mummified ICS staff rescued after they were dissected by the museum's summer campers. "This," reuse and recycle "the end", said Vice President Curt Simmons SCI.

The exhibit was developed by the Center for Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, and made use of material from museums in New York and Philadelphia. Includes more than 60 ancient artifacts and kid-friendly scenes where visitors can reconstruct pottery, building a pyramid, to decipher the hieroglyphics and - a bonus - to pose for a photo at the top of a camel false.

Visit the exhibition in Des Moines will be his seventh stop on a national tour, and SCI staff expected to rival attendance figures for the previous show about Leonardo da Vinci (65 000) and current "Body Worlds" show (on the road Subscribe to 75,000 of his relatives, Oct. 31).

Plans were already in the works to bring the show Egyptian city where the interests of archeology received a surprise boost in January when the local sewer workers discovered human remains that could be as old as 7000 years. The remains were found near a place where scientists believe Iowans start once harvested mussels. The ash of charcoal old site, and in fact, signs of a Stone Age Clambake.

"It really helps our efforts to go from Nice to need," SCI said interim president Art Wittmack the local discovery. "It was great to make the connection between ancient Egypt and modern Des Moines."

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Henan Bone Flutes Dating Back To 6000 BC

Each week we look at a work of art or a cultural relic that focuses on the heritage of China.

The music is as old as humanity, and has made many forms of non-human evolution.

In 1987, 16 bone flutes dating from around 6000 BC, found in a Neolithic tomb of Jiahu, in the central province of Henan in China. These bone flutes, the nation's oldest known musical instruments, flutes are much older and archaeology excavated in Mesopotamia 2000 years before it was released in Egypt.

In antiquity, superstition and witchcraft have been used to explain natural phenomena and bone flutes have been used as a means of connecting to God and humans in sacrificial rites.

Jiahu bone flutes, currently detained in Henan Museum, and still be playable, is made from the bones of the wings red-crowned cranes, and are about 20 cm long. They are open finger holes and 5-8 vary, although most of the seven. The most visible is 22 cm long and has seven holes.

Different signs were found in the middle of some of these bone flutes, which show that the number of holes and the distances were measured accurately and if amended before drilling in order to include them in the field of music in which they were designed flutes work.

When these flutes were made, was a small hole at times next to a pair of finger holes to correct the difference in intonation. This technique is still used in the manufacture of Chinese instruments.

"The discovery of bone flutes Jiahu have improved our understanding of the history of Chinese music dates back to 10,000 years," says a Chinese Xiao Xinghua music specialist, who has studied the bone flutes for over 10 years.

But the discovery of Jiahu bone flutes also leaves many unsolved mysteries, says Xiao. For example, the finger holes of 0.1 to 0.3 cm in diameter. What was so small drilled holes and slippery? What kind of tools, flute makers use?

Another mystery of the producers of flute music math skills and temperament. Only if both were to a large extent have been able to determine the number of finger holes and the flute and their spacing, so that all the finger holes, can provide the perfect pitch of the bones of different length and thickness.



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Stone Tools Found Interesting In Kenya

Stone tools found interesting in Kenya

Arctic Skua Nelja puolin, snipe kirveellä. Eri pinnoille Talla 23cm Pitka Esine oli todennäköisesti käytetty erilaisiin tehtäviin.

Quatre pages d'une main-hache. Les différents visages de cet objet de 23cm long a été probablement de nombreuses taches utilis pour différentes.

Verdens ældste avancerede stenredskaber er fundet i det af i nærheden lago Turkana in Kenya nordvestlige.

Kasi-Pisaran muotoinen akselin Paiva Noin 1760000 vuotta Zion, Olisi ollut käytetty erilaisia ​​tehtäviä pilkkominen puun liha paloitellaan.

Forskere fortæller tidsskriftet nature, in company Bleve den af ​​værktøjer formentlig if erectus menneskelige forfader Gay.

If trattava di più cervello a great, intelligent creatura più di tutti e più talento della specie umana prima.

Ils auraient été utiles aux chercheurs you décrivent comme les "couteau Us" de l'âge de pierre.

Homo erectus à distance en Afrique et en Asie avant qu'ils it s'éteignent environ 70,000 ans. Beaucoup qu'il était sur la ligne soupçonnent directe pour les humains modernes evolution - Homo sapiens.

Suunnittelu Huolellinen

Palaeolithic Herramientas de piedra if pueden agrupar en diferentes series de Estilos. El encuentro en el que se type arqueológico sitio está cubierta por los como antropólogos achelense Kokiselei technology.

De tels sont più oggetti grands et plus you Caillou Lourdes-choppers (oldowayen Technologie), qui ont été et qui sont à Utilizza Précédemment delle Nazioni Unite associés, più connu comme être Humain Primitif Gay habilis.

È anche assi Acheuleano distinctive hand cesellati Bordi.

Their production would have required foresight in the design and selection of specific types of rigorous Parties Act Roche A mode where you have the latest product.

"The Oldowan is somewhat randomly made," said lead author Christopher Lepre from Rutgers University and Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

"It is not until you start to see the Acheulean culture gets you in the tools that are very systematic and recognizable to the layman as tools," he told the BBC.

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Ancient Israel Was A Strong Bastion Of Islamic Power In The Early

Rare inscriptions on a burial box 2000 years may shed new light on the death of Jesus Christ, the researchers said.

Called an ossuary, a limestone box to reveal the house Caiaphas, the high priest involved in the crucifixion of Jesus the Israel Antiquities Authority, the ossuary was seized by looters three years ago, went along with Professor Yuval Goren Department of the University of Archaeology of Tel Aviv, which led to the effort of verification.

"Beyond reasonable doubt, the inscription is authentic," Goren said, after conducting a thorough review of the limestone box, with Jewish leaders, Muslim and Christians engaged in power struggles from the Middle East millennia. Now, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University has found evidence suggesting that an Israeli website has been a bastion of Islamic power before the end of the region.

Professor Moshe Fischer of the Department of Archaeology and TAU cultures of the Middle East, says a bathhouse-inspired Roman fortress at Yavneh-Yam is located on a peninsula near the current Tel Aviv, this suggesting that the Arab leaders maintained control of the site until the 12th century AD

Officers of the fortress, he suggests, were responsible for hostage negotiations, the power of Arab and Christian crusaders, and the port used for prisoner exchanges.

Roman bath technology, adaptation and Arabic style

According to Professor Fischer, who is the head of Yavneh-Yam dig, recently found in bath houses, which used Roman techniques, such as heated floors and walls, shows that the Arab leaders to maintain control of the site until the end the early Islamic period. Be held in conjunction with other objects dating - such as pottery, lamps, and a weight of glass rare - this architecture shows that this has been Yavne-Yam in Arabic at a time when 70 percent of the surrounding area was in the hands of Christian crusaders.

Working with a doctoral candidate Itamar Taxell, director of excavations, Prof. Fischer was the site of Yavneh-Yam excavation for the past twenty years. Among the first discoveries were two glass weights dating from the 12th century, which bore the name of Arab power and dominance, Fatimid dynasty. The weights themselves were of interest and definitely shown an Arab presence on the ground, miners say. But the scale of this presence was underscored by the discovery of a bad dating from that era and built according to Roman.

This year, for the first time, researchers have completed a thorough analysis of the page promontory, the piece of land jutting into the sea, which is the site of a natural harbor. The main structures, a series of fortification systems, including a sharp turn and Wael around the top of the hill, it was discovered to be built in the distinctive Islamic style does. The Roman baths uncovered in the Fortress, Professor Fischer said, leaves little doubt that in the 12th century, the fortress was still inhabited by the Arabs in place of the Christian crusaders.

"This is an exceptional find and rare," he said, describing the bathroom as a smaller version of the traditional Roman baths, heated by hot air circulating between floors two and pipes along the walls. The Crusaders did not build this kind of baths, and after the end of the first Islamic period, they disappear completely. "You do not see these facilities until the resurgence of these techniques by modern technology in the 19th century," says Dr. Fischer. "This marked the end of the use of a traditional Roman bath house in the 12 century architecture."

Most likely, the fortress has hosted a list of captains to change the military and his men, to install bathrooms to provide these men with extra amenities. Although the baths themselves were destroyed today, the researchers found large blocks of marble that decorated the walls, and said the view from the suite with sea view

A place for business?

The fort served as a strategic lookout point over the fragile Arab fortresses to protect against the attack of the Crusaders. According to sources, Yavneh-Yam, such as the ports of Ashdod, and Yaffa, was the place where the Christian Crusaders and the Arabs negotiated the hostages.

During this period, both the Crusaders and the Arabs took prisoners on the other hand, later to be exchanged, either for ransom or other prisoners of war who had been captured. The Crusaders have more ships arrived to negotiate with Arab leaders, then send a note to Ramla, the Arab capital, pending orders and complete the transaction requested.

Researchers continue to archaeology excavations the site, now national, Professor Fischer said. By combining these new archaeological discoveries of historical evidence, "We have a nice picture of a complex relationship that existed in the Holy Land between the handful of Muslim enclaves, linked to the Arab domination in Cairo, surrounded by the Crusaders."

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2000 Years Of Biblical Burial Box Reveals Little About The Death Of Jesus

Rare inscriptions on a burial box 2000 years may shed new light on the death of Jesus Christ, the researchers said.

Called an ossuary, a box of chalk shows Caiaphas, the high priest involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. The Israel Antiquities Authority, who confiscated the ossuary thieves three years ago, he then Professor Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology who led the efforts of authentication.

"Without a doubt, that writing is authentic," Gore said, after conducting a thorough investigation of the limestone box, which boasts a decorative rosettes, as well subscribe.

Goren results imply the inclusion unusually descriptive sheds light on one of the men behind the death of Jesus. Registration complete reads: "Miriam, the daughter of Yeshua Caiaphus Sun, pastor of Beth Maaziah Imri," naming the deceased in three generations and a possible location.

The Maaziah refers to a clan that was the last of about 24 orders of priests high during the Second Temple period, Goren said. Although there are few records of the clan in the Talmudic sources that detail their lives after their dispersion in Galilee in 70 AD, the reference to Beit Imri new insight to put family before migration.

Although you may Beit Imri refers to another order of priesthood, the researchers said, is more likely to refer to a geographic location, probably the Caiaphus village family home.

Ossuary believed to come from a tomb in the Valley of Elah, southwest of Jerusalem, the mythical place of the battle between David and Goliath. Beit Imri was probably located on the slopes of Mount Hebron.

This is not the first time ossuaries were new. An inscription discovered recently, asking the head of an ossuary to be James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. The revelation made the headlines in 2002 - only to be revealed as a hoax.

Goren believes it really is - and it has science on his side.

"When the rock is deposited in the soil for millennia, that affects the environment and the impact on the environment," he said.

Processes such as erosion of acidic groundwater and the accumulation of layers of limestone or quartz, biological activity, such as the growth of bacteria, algae, lichens, and activity close to the flora and fauna in due to a stone revetment. Most of these characteristics are impossible to reproduce in the laboratory.

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Arctic archeological dig uncovers mysterious disks

Mysterious disks found at an archaeological dig in Northwest Alaska have experts puzzled.

The four small pieces, formed from clay, are round and adorned with markings. Two have neatly centered holes. They may be 1,000 years old and, at the moment, what they were used for is anyone's guess.

The existence of similarly decorated boulders at old village sites in Noatak National Preserve was first recorded by archaeologists in the 1960s. But the sites remained unstudied until last summer, when Scott Shirar, a research archaeologist at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, took an expedition for a closer look at two locations.

Making small-scale archaeology excavations, they came upon the disks.

"The first one looks like a little stone that had some scratch marks on it," said Shirar. "We got really excited when we found the second one with the drilled hole and the more complicated etchings on it. That's when we realized we had something unique.

"We only opened up a really small amount of ground at the site, so the fact that we found four of these artifacts indicates there are probably more and that something really significant (was) happening."

The artifacts were unusual in several respects. They were made of clay, not carved from stone or bone. In the course of the excavations, the team encountered a fine gray clay that could have been worked to create the objects, which were, Shirar said, "definitely hand made."

Then there are the markings. Petroglyphs -- the catchall term for any human-made marks on natural stone -- are found around the world and are common in Southeast Alaska and the Kodiak region.

"But there are only a handful of examples

in northern and interior Alaska," Shirar said. "They're very rare."

The meaning behind the petroglyphs is a source of conjecture for archeologists, he said. "It's almost limitless, the ideas you can come up with."

Those ideas range from maps or storytelling to mystical symbols or simple artistic decoration.

"It's the first time we've found anything like that," Shirar said. "We've combed through the collections here at the museum and found a similar, though not identical, ivory disk from St. Lawrence Island."

The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository in Kodiak also has items somewhat like the ones from the Noatak region that may have been lids.

Other theories include speculation that they were gaming pieces -- think of prehistoric Arctic dreidels -- or used for ornamentation, like beads or amulets. They're quite light, Shirar said, fragile and small. One measured only 2 centimeters across.

The presence of the hole in the middle of the disk shape calls to mind a spindle whorl, Shirar said. That would raise the possibility that people were spinning something, rope or lines if not plant fabric or wool yarn.

Each of the documented sites in the preserve has numerous habitation and storage pit features, Shirar said. And each at one time had a large communal dwelling built on boulders weighing several hundred pounds and measuring 4 to 5 feet across. Some of the petroglyphs on the boulders appear to mimic the etchings found on the clay disks.

Over the winter the museum team will perform more extensive research on the disks and try to get a better fix on their age. Based on what he observed, Shirar said the sites "likely date within the last thousand years sometime but we won't know for sure until we get the radiocarbon dates back."

The National Park Service funding that paid for the UA Museum team's visit to two sites in the preserve this summer also covers a trip to a third site next year.

That grant only covered two summers, Shirar said. "But now that we've made these fairly significant finds, we'll probably try to get some additional funds."


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Scottish treasure trove revealed

A hoard of gold Iron Age torcs found near Stirling is among the highlights of the sixth annual Scottish Treasure Trove report.

The torcs - which earned the finder a reward of £462,000 - were found in 2009 but reported to the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer last year.

Other "outstanding" finds were a gold button unearthed in Perth and Kinross and a Papal Bulla found in Fife.

Discoveries were also made in East Lothian and the Scottish Borders.

The report covers the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 and details finds dealt with by the remembrancer and the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel.

Under Scots law, the Crown can claim any archaeological objects found in Scotland.

Finders have no ownership rights and must report any objects to the Treasure Trove Unit.

Catherine Dyer, the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (QLTR), said: "The report confirms that this has been another magnificent year with some outstanding finds being reported, preserved and displayed in breathtaking museum collections around Scotland.

"Once again I would like to praise the dedicated work of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel, the National Museums of Scotland, the Treasure Trove Unit and the QLTR office."

Ms Dyer also thanked the members of the public who reported finds, so "preserving" the history of Scotland for all to enjoy.

The four neck ornaments - or torcs - were unearthed in a field near Blair Drummond by David Booth in September 2009.

They date from between the 1st and 3rd Century BC and are regarded as the most significant discovery of Iron Age gold objects from Scotland for more than 100 years.

A Medieval dagger pommel, decorated with heraldic shields and dating from the 13th Century, was also found near Blair Drummond in Stirling.

The report also describes a 12th Century silver penny of William the Lion, which was found at Preston Pans in East Lothian.

The coin has been cut neatly in half which archaeologists believe was a quick solution to "small change" when these pennies were the smallest denomination available.

And an elaborate Bronze Age spearhead, discovered at Yetholm in the Scottish Borders, is singled out as a "relatively rare" find which demonstrated the "significant skill" needed to produce such weapons.

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Carpet museum opens in Shushi

A unique museum of ancient and modern carpets opened in Shushi, Nagorno Karabakh.

Dozens of carpets from various villages of Artsakh are displayed. Local carpets, some of which date back a hundred of years, are remarkable for rich ornament and color saturation.

With opening of the museum, Nagorno Karabakh proves its being a center of Armenian culture.

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History Museum opens exhibits on Soviet and Independent Armenia

feature Soviet Armenia and Independent Republic of Armenia exhibits in the framework of celebratory events dedicated to Armenia's 20th anniversary

Soviet Armenia exhibit highlights exclusive documents, photos, private items and awards of Armenian marshals, generals and soldiers, reflecting 70-year history of the country and Armenia’s role in World War II. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan participated in the opening of the archaeology exhibition.

Armenia's history since 1988 is presented in Independent Republic of Armenia exhibit.

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5,900-Year-Old Dress Found in Armenia

Archaeologists have found parts of a woman’s colorful dress, which they say dates back 5,900 years, reported AFP on Sept. 14.

The dress is made from straw material and “is the only example of clothing made of such an ancient vegetable material,” Pavel Avetisian, the director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology at Armenia’s Academy of Sciences, told AFP.

It was dated by scientists at the University of California, and is currently being restored, according to Avetisian.

The dress was found in the Areni cave where recent excavations have yielded what archaeologists say is the world’s oldest known leather shoe, about 5,500 years old, and a 6,100-year-old winery.

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Broch casts light on Picts’ Roman contacts

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered an Iron Age broch that they believe became the seat of a Celtic chieftain and casts new light on contact between the Picts and the Roman Empire.

The team from the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (Serf) project say the Iron Age broch they have found near the village of Dunning in Perthshire is the first of its kind to be discovered in the Lowlands for a century and is exquisitely preserved.

Looking for clues to relations between Romans and Picts, theme of the movie Eagle of the Ninth, bottom left. Main image: University of Glasgow

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Archaeology: Mausoleum of Ottoman conqueror found at Perperikon

Archaeologists working at Bulgaria's ancient sacred site of Perperikon have found a mausoleum, with a sarcophagus inside containing a human skeleton believed to be that of a 14th century Ottoman conqueror, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The building is oval, with a diameter of eight metres.

The skeleton was found to have been laid out in accordance with Muslim custom, the document said.

The remains are said to be those of Izrail, who in the 14th century led to a force of 300 soldiers to the site, then of the most powerful fortresses in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains.

According to leading Bulgarian archaeologist Professor Nikolai Ovcharov, the find opens a historicallyin the past unknown page in the history of Perperikon and of the early Ottoman empire.

Dozens of silver coins from the Ottoman period were found next to the mausoleum.

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Pictish beast intrigues Highland archaeologists

A Pictish symbol stone built into the wall of a Highland farm building has been recorded by archaeologists.


The markings show a beast, crescent, comb and mirror.

Archaeologist Cait McCullagh said it was a mystery how it had taken until this year for the stone to be officially recorded.

She said it also suggested that more Pictish stones have still to be documented on the Black Isle where the beast was recorded.

Ms McCullagh, the co-founder and director of Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (Arch), said the symbol stones probably dated from the 5th to 7th centuries AD.

She said it was unusual to find such carvings on the north side of the Moray Firth.

A lack of weathering on the Pictish beast may suggest the stone had been kept inside, or had been buried, for a long period before it was placed in the wall of the byre.

Isobel Henderson, an expert in the field of early medieval sculpture, came across the Pictish beast stone earlier this year and alerted Highland Council archaeologists.

Easter Ross-based Ms McCullagh was also notified and she confirmed the markings as Pictish.

She also went on to identify a Pictish symbol stone in the wall of a nearby farmhouse with markings thought to represent goose feathers, or fish scales. Harling obscures most the carving.
'A mystery'

Both stones are on private properties built in the 19th Century and owned by the same family for about 50 years until two years ago.

Ms McCullagh said the relics were never mentioned during a recent local heritage project that had asked people to suggest sites of archaeological and historical interest.

The Pictish beast and goose, or fish, markings have been recorded by Highland Council's Historic Environment Record.

Ms McCullagh said: "It is a mystery why it has taken so long for the stones to come to our attention.

"It is also exciting to think that there are maybe more still to be found.

"We are always encouraging people to put their Pictish specs on and look out for stones in church yards and dykes."

The Picts lived in north and east Scotland in the 3rd to 9th centuries AD.

Few written records of the people survive.

According to Highland Council, inscriptions suggest that the Picts spoke a language closely related to both Welsh and Gaelic.



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Oldest Shark Nursery Found—Predators Lived in Lakes?

Even baby sharks need a safe haven—and now scientists have found the oldest known nursery for the predatory fish.

Several 230-million-year-old teeth and egg capsules uncovered at a fossil site in southwestern Kyrgyzstan suggest hundreds of young sharks once congregated in a shallow lake, a new study says.

Called hybodontids, the animals were likely bottom feeders, like modern-day nurse sharks.

Mothers would've attached their eggs to horsetails and other marshy plants along the lakeshore. Once born, the Triassic-era babies would've had their pick from a rich food supply of tiny invertebrates, while dense vegetation offered protection from predators.

Yet there's no evidence of any fin that rocked the cradle, so to speak—the babies were likely on their own, said study leader Jan Fischer, a paleontologist at the Geologisches Institut at TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany.

(See "Shark Nursery Yields Secrets of Breeding.")

In general, "shark-nursery areas are very important, because they are essential habitats for sharks' survival," Catalina Pimiento, a biologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said in an email.

"This study expands the time range in which sharks [are known to] have used nursery areas in order to protect their young," noted Pimiento, who wasn't involved in the study. "This expansion of the range of time reinforces the importance of such zones."

Ancient Sharks Lived in Fresh Water?

When Fischer and colleagues first found shark egg capsules at the field site, they knew teeth shed by the newborns must be also embedded in the earth.

So the team collected several sediment samples, took them to Germany, and dissolved the sediments in the lab. The work yielded about 60 teeth, all of which belonged to babies, except for a single adult tooth.

The high number of baby teeth plus freshwater chemical signatures in those teeth suggest the ancient sharks spawned in fresh water, far from the ocean, according to the study, published in the September issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Fischer also suspects that the ancient sharks spent their whole lives in lakes and rivers, in contrast with modern egg-laying sharks, whose life cycles are exclusively marine, he noted.

It's possible that, like modern-day salmon, shark adults could have migrated hundreds of kilometers upstream between the ocean and the nursery to spawn. But Fischer finds this scenario "improbable," mainly because of the sheer distance that the fish would have to cover.

(Related: "Sharks Travel 'Superhighways,' Visit 'Cafes.'")

Shark Fossils a Rare Find

Whatever the answer, learning more about ancient sharks via fossils is rare, the study authors noted. Sharks' cartilaginous skeletons decay quickly, leaving just tiny clues as to their lifestyles.

(Also see "Oldest Shark Braincase Shakes Up Vertebrate Evolution.")

The "fact they got these shark teeth fossils with the egg capsules is what makes it really neat," noted Andrew Heckert, a vertebrate paleontologist at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

"Usually you find either a trace fossil [such as a skin impression] or a body fossil, and you're always trying to make the argument that these represent one or the other" theory, said Heckert, who was not involved in the study.

In other words, having only one type of fossil is often not enough to draw definitive conclusions about an ancient species' behavior.

"Those egg capsules," he added, "are spectacular."

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Oldest Direct Human Ancestor Likely To Be 2 Million Years Old

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have confirmed the age of possibly our oldest direct human ancestor at 1.98 million years old.

The discovery was made after researchers conducted further dating of the early human fossils, Australopithecus sediba, found in South Africa last year.

A series of studies carried out on newly exposed cave sediments at the Malapa Cave site in South Africa, where the fossils were found, has assisted researchers to determine their more precise age at 1.98 million years old, making the Malapa site one of the best dated early human sites in the world.

A series of papers published today in a special issue of the prestigious international journal Science provide a new, more precise age for the fossils, as well as more detailed studies of the hands, feet, pelvis and brain.

Uranium lead dating of the flowstone, conducted by the University of Melbourne combined with palaeomagnetic analysis sediments surrounding the fossils, conducted by La Trobe University provide the tightly constrained new age.

The team was able to pin down the age of the fossils to within 3000 years of 1.98 million years, a massive advance on the age range of around 200,000 years from the 2010 estimate.

Dr Robyn Pickering of the University of Melbourne’s School of Earth Sciences, a lead researcher involved in the dating of the flowstone surrounding the fossils said researchers had long been searching for fossils from this time period to answer questions about the beginnings of our own genus Homo.

“Knowing the age of the fossils is critical to placing them in our family tree, and this new age means that Australopithecus sediba is the current best candidate for our most distant human ancestor.”

“The results of these studies present arguably the most precise dates ever achieved for any early human fossils,” she said.

It appears the fossils were deposited in the Malapa Cave during a 3,000-year period around 1.98 million years when the Earth’s magnetic field reversed itself by 180 degrees and back again.

Dr Andy Herries from the Archaeology Program at La Trobe University who undertook the palaeomagnetic analysis said our ability to date and correctly identify these rare magnetic reversal events was crucial.

“They enable us to better date fossil and archaeological sites in the future, as well as to understand the possible effects they have on climate, plants and animals,” he said.

Professor Paul Dirks from James Cook University and Professor Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg led the team that originally discovered the fossils in 2008.

“It is through the new exposures and our understanding of the stratigraphy of the site, together with the advances we’ve made in the dating techniques that we can be even more precise now,” Professor Dirk said.

“The strong collaboration between South African and Australian universities has allowed us to push the boundaries of what was once thought possible in dating critical moments in early human origins in Africa,” said Professor Berger.

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'Oldest' woolly rhino discovered

A woolly rhino fossil dug up on the Tibetan Plateau is believed to be the oldest specimen of its kind yet found.

The creature lived some 3.6 million years ago - long before similar beasts roamed northern Asia and Europe in the ice ages that gripped those regions.

The discovery team says the existence of this ancient rhino supports the idea that the frosty Tibetan foothills of the Himalayas were the evolutionary cradle for these later animals.

The report appears in Science journal.

"It is the oldest specimen discovered so far," said Xiaoming Wang from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, US.

"It is at least a million years older, or more, than any other woolly rhinos we have known.

"It's quite well preserved - just a little crushed, so not quite in the original shape; but the complete skull and lower jaw are preserved," he told BBC News.

The rhino was found in Tibet's Zanda Basin. The area is rich in fossil beds, and this specimen was unearthed along with examples of extinct horse, antelope, snow leopard, badger and many other kinds of mammals.

It has been put in a new species classification - Coelodonta thibetana.

Dr Wang and colleagues say it displays some very primitive features compared with its counterparts that lived through the later great glaciations of the Pleistocene Epoch.

Judging from marks on the skull, the creature's horn, which has not survived, would likely have been quite flat in construction and leaning forward.

This might have allowed the animal more easily to sweep snow out of the way to get at vegetation, a useful behaviour for survival in the harsh Tibetan climate, the team says.

"We think it would have used its horn like a paddle to sweep the snow away," Dr Wang explained.

Although the extinction of the Pleistocene beasts, such as woolly mammoths and rhinos, great sloths and sabre-tooth cats, has been intensively studied in recent years, much less is known about where these giants came from and how they acquired their adaptations for living in a cold environment.

The argument made in the Science paper is that perhaps they got those adaptations on the Tibetan Plateau.

"When this rhino existed, the global climate was much warmer and the northern continents were free of the massive ice sheets seen in the later ice ages," Dr Wang said.
Head of woolly rhino The horn has not been preserved but its nature has been judged from the skull

"Then, about a million years later, when the ice age did hit the world, these Tibetan woolly rhinos were basically pre-adapted to the ice age environment because they had this ability to sweep snows.

"They just happily came down from the high altitude areas and expanded to the rest of Eurasia."

The Los Angeles-based researcher concedes that many more fossil finds will be required to underpin the Tibetan hypothesis.

Andy Currant, an expert on the Pleistocene (1.8 million to about 11,000 years ago) at London's Natural History Museum, says this is not straightforward in the case of woolly rhinos, and good specimens can sometimes be hard to come by.

"Woolly rhino were preyed on by spotted hyenas and they were eaten pretty thoroughly; the hyenas liked the bones," he told BBC News.

Source from : http://www.bbc.co.uk

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